SCHENECTADY – Assemblyman Jim Tedisco (R,C,I-Schenectady-Saratoga) is calling on the State Comptroller’s Office to immediately divest all investments from BP Oil, according to a release from his office.
“We have a moral and financial obligation to pension holders and all New Yorkers to pull taxpayer-funded investments from BP until they clean up the oil spill and repay taxpayers and citizens affected by the worst environmental disaster in American history,” said Tedisco, who noted that since the fund has already taken a hit from the drop in value of BP’s stock, the nearly one million shareholders would not be further hurt by divesting state dollars from the company.
“It’s not enough to just sue BP for financial losses incurred by pension holders,” Tedisco said. “We have a moral responsibility to taxpayers to say that New York will not prop-up an irresponsible foreign company that calls Americans impacted by their negligence, ‘small people.’”
Tedisco noted he has long championed research and development of alternative fuels.
“I’ve been talking about investing in alternative fuels as a long-term, environmentally-friendly solution to our energy needs long before it was the cool thing to do,” Tedisco said. “Now, more than ever, we need to do whatever we can to grow green-collar jobs, kick our oil addiction and protect the planet.”
